A Beach Tale
by Magnus Parvus
Summary: The Young Justice gang’s trip to the beach goes awry when they are attacked by big bugs. All my YJ stories compete with the very high caliber of published stories in this late series.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1 Screeches and Beaches and Whales.

"Wahoo, the beach, the beach!" screamed Impulse from his seat on the supercycle. In it were all the members of Young Justice save for Secret. Slobo rode along side on his bike.

"Why didn't Suzie come along?" asked Robin.

"Oh, she's lost in Another World," said Empress.

"You mean she's exploring other dimensional planes?"

"No mon, she's watching it on TV, she's addicted to the soap operas."

"Screw you losers, I'm going fishing." said Slobo, "I betcha there's a good fishin' spot just south of that volcano." A tackle box and a few fishing rods were attached to the back of his cycle as he roared off.

"Volcano? Hmm..." said Robin. He spied the beach in front of him. "Well, what do you know, when the supercycle wouldn't respond after we left we left for the beach, I figured that it would take us somewhere where we were needed. Instead we end up traveling halfway around the world, to go where had intended on going in the fist place, the..."

"...Beach, the beach, Wahoo!" screamed Impulse again.

Cissie leaned out of her seat in the back of the cycle and squinted, her eyes widened suddenly. "A beached whale."

Impulse cocked his head in Cissie's direction. "Ok, one more time. The beach! Yahoo, the beach!"

Cissie shook her head, "No, no, no, a beached whale."

Impulse shouted, "Ok, loud as I can do it, a beach wail. Yippee, the beach! Wahoo, the beach!"

Kon turned, annoyed at Impulse, "Geez, enough with the wailing and hollering, it's enough to drive someone batty. Well except for Rob, he's driving and sort of batty already."

Cissie started again to holler, "A beach..."

Kon cut her off, "Will you stop encouraging him."

Impulse caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye, he pointed at it shouting, "A beached whale! A beached whale!"

Kon didn't hide his annoyance, "Will you shut-"

"Actually, two beached whales, from the readings that the cycle is giving me," said Robin, "We're headed toward them now. Good eye, Ciss."

Cassie commented as the whale came into clear view below the supercycle, "I only see one, are you sure?"

"Positive, two life forms." replied Robin, as he landed the cycle on the higher up on the dryer sand of the beach.

Superboy flew out of the cycle and approached the whale. "I only see one too."

Impulse stared quizzically, "One, two? - Twelve huh! I think maybe you need glasses Kon."

Superboy ignored him and continued to approach the whale. "The supercycle might be acting up again, but I think we should be able to save this One." He placed his hands on the whale and gently began to push: applying his tactile telekinesis

Robin called out from behind him, "Careful Kon, I think she's pregnant."

Kon looked puzzled, "How can you t-" and he stopped himself short, "Oh right makes sense. Ok, nice and easy mamma."

Slowly the whale started moving away from them. Once it got to the deeper waters it began to rouse its self and was quickly gone beneath the water.

"That was totally righteous mon, saving endangered species. Chalk one up for mother earth." Empress roared, "That was a humpback."

"Really!" said Impulse, "I wonder if they called it that because it has a hump on its back? Nah, can't be, it's probably Latin or something."

"Probably." said Kon, his voice laced with sarcasm.

A short while later they are on the beach.

Cassie moaned looking around in desperation. "There's no place for us to change into our bathing suits."

"You could try change in the water, you could try the sea." said Superboy.

"Try the sea? Try the sea, my ass," replied Cass.

"I wasn't trying to see your ass," replied Superboy in protest.

"I never said you were... Holy Hera, the supercycle just transformed itself into a change room!"

They stared in amazement as two booths popped up, out from under the seats. One had a door with a picture of a man. The other had a door with the picture of a woman in a skirt. Tentatively Cassie approached the booth and opened the door, "Hera, it's got full plumbing and everything."

"Well isn't this convenient." said Robin. As they headed inside, Robin turned to Kon El; "You were trying to see her ass, weren't you? That's why you asked about those goggles."

"And if this dammed so called "super" cycle hadn't wrecked my plan."

A short while later they are on the beach, in their swimwear.

"I am enjoying this," said Cassie as she lay down on her beach blanket, "no adults, summer break, gorgeous afternoon, hot tropical beach!"

"You brought lots of sun block right, Cassie, I mean otherwise I'll be like totally freckled, and burnt, you know I don't tan well?"

"Yes, Cissie it's right here," she said tossing her a clear white tube." You could have left some of your stuff at our justice pad, so you didn't have to borrow mine all the time."

"That wouldn't feel right Cass, I mean if you moved out of your boyfriend's apartment you'd take your toothbrush wouldn't you?" Cissie started to spread the lotion on her legs.

"I don't know what I would do, because I've never moved out of my boyfriend's apartment, because I've never moved into my boyfriends apartment, because I don't have a boyfriend. Geez Ciss, it's like, a totally different situation. I mean it's not like you broke up with Young Justice, because there is no young justice, there's "just us", just us here on the beach, I mean you're still friends with all of us. Right?"

"Cass, it's exactly like I broke up with Young Justice, I mean no matter how much I try to avoid the super hero thing, whenever I'm with you guys, bam, I'm right back in there, sometimes I think it's like a relationship I can't break off."

"Well we're not doing anything too super heroic right now. We're just sitting here in the sun working on our tans."

"Yeah, working on our tans, I wonder how long this will last?"

"Stop being so cynical!"

Cissie sniffed at the lotion she had been spreading liberally over herself and a glare of anger came over her face. "Stop being cynical? So why does this sun block smell like insect repellent?"

Cass looked away in guilt, "Whoops! Sorry."

"Watch this." said Kon, as he touched the water he pushed it back; huge columns of water were pushed forward. They began to crest in on themselves, forming into...

"These are the best waves for surfing, Kon," yelled Anita atop her yellow surfboard, as she crouched in the cone of water.

"Heads up!" yelled Robin, gaining speed, he whipped by Empress, and then suddenly his red surfboard veered upward, as he was thrust in the crest of the wave. He was thrown upside down into the crush of the breaking water disappearing from site.

"Wha wha wha wipe out," yelled Kon in a high-pitched voice. He then stood back in amazement, as he saw Robin, still on his surfboard, caught up again in the cones spiral.

Anita came up to him on her board. "That was amazing! How did you do that?"

"Dumb luck, I lost total control, I went one way the board went the other, I collided with it when I got caught in the wave's current. I managed to get on top of the board, and the next thing I know, I'm back in the spiral, pure accident! Ya see, this is my first time on a surfboard."

"Get out! No way!"

"You can't surf in Gothom harbor. I picked up skateboarding, it's kind of the same, well, similar at any rate."

Superboy stopped his TK with the water and flew to where Robin and Anita were waiting in the water, floating on their boards. "Man that was awesome! How did you do that? Wait, I bet you do all that stuff, huh, skiing, rock climbing, at near professional level, you and Batman."

"Yes Kon that's sort of true," replied Robin earnestly.

"Well don't let it go to your head, but that is some of the most bitchin' boarding I've ever seen. You're a real surfer bird."

"Why thank you, Kon."

"Word! I'll get another cone going." He flew off.

"How come you didn't tell him it was dumb luck?"

"Why then, Anita, it wouldn't be lucky at all"

Impulse laid a towel down on the sand in front of Cassie and Cissie and proceeded to lie down. He took out his sunglasses and put them on "Hey guys!" he said, "Well girls. Not to say that you're not one of the guys, guys. It's just that you're not guys, you're girls. You're girl guys."

"Wazza?" said Cassie waking up, "Girl Guides. Not again, I don't wanna sell any cookies."

Cissie looked up questioningly. "I thought you were building sand castles."

"Yeah, it's finished." he said pointing an intricate castle with a moat, a drawbridge, two towers and a thick exterior wall. It was also the size of a house. "Got the metal and chain and stuff from stuff they had under the water. They have a few sunken wrecks just offshore."

Cissie stared in amazement. "That's incredible Bart! Like the moat, nice touch."

Bart lay his head down on the towel. "Why thank you, Cissie."

Cissie replied, "You're welcome Bart. Say what's with you? You just going to lie on the beach and do nothing? That isn't your style."

"Actually I didn't think it was either, it's just that if I remain unfocused, I have absolutely no trouble just sitting down doing nothing."

"Unfocus your thoughts?"

"Yeah, ya see if I think about lots of stuff, doesn't matter what kind of stuff, just wonder about it. I don't focus on anything long enough to get bored by it. It's riveting really, doing nothing."

Cassie seemed interested by this, "So letting your thoughts wander, fills you with wonder."

Impulse contemplated this, "Yeah! I wonder why? I wonder why I wonder? I even, wonder why, I wonder why I wonder? Wonder Girl. Hmm…"

Then from nowhere a giant bug, that looked like a cross between a locust and a spider and was about the size of a pig, leapt out in front of Cassie's bath towel. Cassie let out a bloodcurdling scream at the site of the creature.

Out on the ocean, Superboy grabbed up both Robin and Anita in his arms, upon hearing the scream in the distance. He flew toward the site of the castle on the beach.

The remaining air bled from Cassie's lungs. She kicked instinctively at the creature. There was an audible crunch as she sent it flying into the sand.

Cissie had already jumped to her feet in readiness. Bart lay on his beach towel, eyes closed beneath his sunglasses, a look of total serenity on his face. "Wow! Good one, Cassie. Now that's what I call a beach wail!"

Suddenly they saw them on the horizon. Hundreds of locust\spider creatures headed toward them, coming out of trees in the distance. Both Cassie and Cissie saw them at the same moment and screamed together.

"A harmonized duet of beach wails! Kind of like the ones we rescued, those were the best ones yet!" said Impulse, perfectly oblivious.

Superboy landed among them, dropping Robin and Empress to the ground.

Robin asked, "What's going on?"

Cissie pointed to the trees in the distance. The creatures were pouring out of the forest. They seemed to be swarming gathering greater and greater numbers. "Giant bugs!" she said at last.

Impulse had his hands beneath his head, his eyes still closed, beneath his sunglasses, "Don't be silly Cissie, you guys, girls, girl guys, you know what I mean, aren't bothering me in the slightest."

"Impulse!" said Robin abruptly, "She means we're going to be attacked by giant bugs!"

"Really?" said Impulse, at last stirring himself. In the next instant he was on his feet and looking strait ahead at the giant bugs swarming towards them. "Well damn me."

Kon added, "Don't you mean "dumb me?"

"Kon, I don't think you're dumb. I mean you're not the brightest, but dumb?"

"Why you..."

"Enough, of this," interrupted Robin. "What exactly are we dealing with?"

"Well," started Cassie, "one of them attacked me, or was about to... I think... so I defended myself before it had a chance to. I kicked it over there." She pointed at the insect. "I kicked it pretty hard. I might have killed it."

Impulse leaned over the creature. Its insect shell was beaten in and green slimy ooze was leaking from it, but some of its limbs were wiggling nonetheless. "It's still moving a bit."

"Man, that thing is gross." Cissie recoiled, "I should have known! I can't even go to the beach with you people without getting attacked by giant bugs!"

"Tough bugs, I could've busted concrete with that kick. Those look like wings on its back. How come they don't fly?"

Cissie optioned, "Maybe they're not wings?"

"There are a lot more of them coming this way fast. We best find a defensive position of some kind. A barricade, a fortress, an impenetrable wall.... and fortunately, it looks like we have structure that meets those requirements right here." Robin looked toward Impulse's sandcastle. "Impulse just how sturdy is it?"

"What do ya expect Robin. It's only a sandcastle, I didn't use much cement and there's only one layer of steel reinforcement from the hulls of sunken ships."

Cissie pointed, "There in one of the towers, are those arrow slits?"

"Well," said Impulse, "I wanted to make it look authentic."

"All right everybody inside now," commanded Robin. They all ran\flew off toward the castle. They crossed the moat, over the drawbridge and were about to pull it up when Anita called out:

"Where's Cissie?"

"Great Hera! There she is by the supercycle," shouted Cassie. "She's reaching inside for something. They're almost on top of her..." She didn't complete the sentence before she flew off to rescue her.

Cissie stared at the wretched creatures before her. "Ya know maybe I should die my hair dark, or even, heaven help me, wear a dark haired wig, because then I wouldn't be blond, and maybe then I wouldn't do these dumb things."

"Raise the drawbridge now," Robin shouted. "Cass can always fly Cissie in over the wall." Kon raised the drawbridge hastily.

The creatures approached the cycle, which Cissie had her back to. As they drew near it, several of the bugs closest to one particular side of the cycle started smashing themselves headlong into the cycle. Cissie stared at the hideous creatures as they surrounded her. "Stay back! Stay back, I'm warning you! Brilliant Ciss, threaten the dumb insects, like that's going to work. " Miraculously they stopped short in front of her, refusing to go further. "Well what do ya know. It worked!"

Cassie dropped between Cissie and the bugs. Where she landed the creatures were in frenzy. They clawed at her with their pincers. They threatened to draw her into them. Cissie quickly pulled Cass back against her, out of the way of the creatures. "I got hold of you! Take off already, this is one instance where we can't afford a delayed flight!"

With that they flew into the air, Cissie atop Cassie's back "What did you go back for? What was so damn important that you had to risk your life to get it?"

Shortly, they are safely inside the walls of the castle.

"A bow and arrows! You won't leave a tooth brush but you hide bow and arrows?"

"What was I supposed to do take them home with me?"

"That's what I would've expected you to do, yes." She stopped and observed Cissie open a package and take large pointed metal cylinders, which she began attaching to the arrow shafts. "What are you screwing on your arrows? Some trick cryo cylinders? That would slow 'em down."

"No, these are filled with explosive, powerful explosive."

"Oh," Cass seemed surprised. "I can see why you didn't want to take that home, so you put it in the supercycle's endlessly expansive compartments."

"No, I put it in there after I first joined. I just never took it out, till now"

Robin stroked his chin contemplatively. "For some reason they seem to be avoiding Cissie, and why did they keep slamming themselves into the cycle?"

Cass's eyes widened in sudden realization, " Wait! The insect repellent! I accidentally gave Cissie insect repellent instead of sun block."

"Oh so that's why she smells so bad," said Bart. "I figured it was because she hadn't showered in a while."

Cissie glared at him "Thanks a lot Bart."

"Why, you're welcome."

"Actually it's me you should be thanking," said Cass, "I mean, because you looked at things so cynically, you thought my screw up was a bad thing, when it was a really good thing, otherwise you might have been torn to pieces."

Impulse nodded in agreement. "And that's a good thing... Not you getting torn to pieces, but the fact that you smell so bad. I mean otherwise you'd be, like, dead, and then you'd really smell bad!" he motioned to Wonder Girl," I'd thank her."

Cassie nodded, "Thank you, Bart."

Impulse bowed slightly " Why, you're welcome Cass."

Cissie turned to face them, rage was pouring out of her face. "Thank you?!? Thank you??? THANK YOU!!!"

Impulse bowed, " Why, you're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome, and thank you for your thanks, it's very polite of you."

"I knew it; I should have trusted my instincts. I knew it looked too small for a volcano," said Robin.

"You mean the volcano we past by when we flew in. The one with the forest all around it destroyed, from what gotta be an eruption, and you, who are trained by the world's greatest detective, say it's not a volcano." said Kon skeptically.

"It's not a volcano. It's more like an anthill," Robin pointed out.

"Say what?" said Kon perplexed.

"For really big ants," continued Robin.

Cassie butted in, "So you're saying we shouldn't make a mountain out of a molehill."

Impulse raised a finger in the air, "Actually, I think he's saying we shouldn't mistake the giant anthill outside for the volcano it appears to be."

"Thanks a lot Imp- wait a second... What am I thanking you for? I mean, perfectly good sarcasm is completely lost on you," Cassie raised her arms in exasperation.

"That's not true, it's not lost on me." Bart protested. Quickly he turned to Kon and whispered to him, "What's sarcasm mean?"

Kon whispered back into his ear," Really?" said Impulse with interest, "No kidding!!"

"Well I'm pretty good then aren't I?" said Impulse out loud, his hands at his hips as he faced Cassie. "Considering I was able to bring you to reach sarcasm!"

End of Part 1

"A Beach Tale" m


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2 Insect Repelling

The bugs kept coming; they entered the water of the moat. If they had any brains, they would have quickly realized that they were out of their element, instead they streamed into the moat, struggled for a little while, then sunk to the bottom.

"The moat is holding them back for now, but it won't for long I suspect. They do seem pretty determined." Robin analyzed the situation looking over the castle wall. "First things first, let's scope out that "volcano". Impulse..."

"You want me to check it out?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"No, I don't mind at all."

"Well," said Robin, noting that Impulse hadn't seemed to move.

"Well what?" said Impulse.

"Well, aren't you going to check it out?"

"What? I already did, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll check it out again. Nope, same thing, nothing's changed."

"Would you mind telling us what you saw?"

"No Robin, I wouldn't mind that at all."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"For Hera's sake Impulse, what did you see?" Cassie slapped him on the back of his head.

"You guys ever see that movie "Aliens" where there's this mother alien that lays eggs that hatch into little aliens."

Cissie shook her head on hearing this, "Great! Now I'm fighting alien giant bugs. Me, Cissie king Jones: ordinary private school student, not a superhero. You want to go to the beach with us, Cissie! It'll be fun, Cissie! Stop being so cynical, Cissie!"

"There's one more thing," interrupted Impulse," you know how from the air, the volcano, or whatever, looked like it had recently erupted because the vegetation around it was destroyed," he said holding up a stick, it had been chewed of at the end, looking like a piece from a beaver damn. "Well I think they ate it, all the trees are chopped down and every bit of green, and whatever else, stripped from it, including the bark, and that's not all. I found this in what looked like droppings." He held up a piece of a jawbone from some sort of animal.

"So they're omnivores, voracious omnivores. This doesn't make sense, and it's certainly not natural. Before I thought that the supercycle brought us to this beach to save the whales, now I see that's not the case. We were brought here, to put an end to these giant bugs," said Robin.

"Put an end to?" jumped in Anita, "Robin, we just saved a couple of creatures that are on the edge of extinction, and now you want obliterate these creatures, when we don't know anything about them?"

"Ah come off it Anita," interjected Kon. "They're bugs!"

"Yeah!" Cass motioning to the scratches on her skin, "They tried to rip me to pieces, I say they're toast."

"The point of the matter is that unless they're stopped they'll spread, leaving destruction in their wake. They must not be native to the region and alien in origin. Quite alien." Robin intoned.

"You mean to say you've never squished a bug before Anita?" said Cissie.

"Oh I have no problem with obliterating them mon, I just felt the need to point out, you know, the irony."

"Oh," they replied it unison.

Just then storm clouds blew overhead, in under a minute, a tremendous downpour occurred. The bugs stopped their assault, dazed by the deluge. They then started to retreat back into the forest, where they had come from, toward their mount.

"Well, they're retreating. What do we do now chief?" asked Kon.

"Well," said Robin, "now that we're no longer on the defensive, we could try a frontal assault."

"You got it chief," said Kon as he flew off.

"But I don't know if that would be such a good idea." continued Robin, "Kon wait! Damn! Wonder Girl back him up, and make sure you put on some of that insect repellant. I'm going to make a break for the cycle, see if I can drive it in here. Cissie cover, me in case of trouble. I'd better hurry it looks like the sun is going to go down soon, and the rain can't last forever." With that, he headed off.

Cissie looked at Impulse questioningly, "I wonder what he meant by that?"

Impulse thought for a moment, "The rain can't last forever, hmm... It could a metaphor meaning that no matter how bad things seem now, that things will change."

"There they are the change rooms, I mean the cycle." thought Robin. He noticed the cycle's body was shiny and unblemished even where the bugs had smashed into it. "If what I'm thinking is correct we'll need you soon." He called to the cycle, putting his fingers to his lips and whistling. "C'mon boy, hunker down, we're going for a ride." In the next instant the booths retracted under the seats. He hopped into the drivers seat and sped off toward the castle. "I hope I'm right about this."

"Boy was Rob ever wrong about this," said Superboy as he gazed at the sight in front of him. He had approached the "volcano" opening, intending on trying to collapse it with his tactile TK. However, as soon as he got close, several of the bug creatures blocked him and in the next moment they were on top of him. He used his power to drive as many as he could away from him. But there were too many of them. They surrounded him, threatening to envelope him. Suddenly he heard from behind him.

"Hey bugs, bug off!"

As if hearing her words, the bugs started to retreat from him, he felt two hands encircled his waist, and begin to pull him upward. "Cassie!" Her face lit up at the mention of her name. He continued, "You smell terrible!"

"Kon," she cried, thrusting him away from her into the air. She looked at the situation below them. "This looks hopeless, there are too many of them."

"Yeah Cassie, you're right. What a stupid plan that was. "Try a frontal assault", I mean, he's supposed to be the brains of this outfit, right?"

"Actually Kon, I think he's got a better plan." Cass responded, as they flew off back toward the castle.

"You got to be kidding me! Wait till nightfall! When, according to you, they're going to attack us. All at once! That's your better plan!"

"Once this rain stops, they're going to be back and in even greater numbers, and if I'm right, come nightfall, every single one of those bugs from the mount, are going to awaken, and attack." Robin responded calmly.

"And you figured this out how? I mean these things are from an another world for all we know right? We don't know anything about these creatures. Just what makes you think you're right?" Kon asked.

"The rain's stopping." noted Anita.

"Look they're back!" added Impulse.

"And in even greater numbers!" chimed in Cassie.

"Get to the towers to defend the castle!" Robin called out, as he headed off.

"Man, how does he do that? He must really be smart," said Kon, his eyes wide in wonderment.

"Or lucky." added Anita, as they headed off to the towers.

Impulse turned to Cassie, "Look, I dunno about this, I mean, even so they're bugs, I still feel bad about killin' em." He said with his head down.

"It's all in your attitude Impulse," said Cassie, "you gotta think like a warrior."

"You mean like Conan, like William Wallace, like Conner McCloud?"

"Something like that, yeah!" said Wonder Girl.

"This is totally weird, fighting giant bugs in my swim suit, I feel like I'm in my underwear." said Kon.

"You mean you don't feel like you're in your underwear when you wear your costume?" noted Anita.

"What are you saying Anita? It's not like my costume has a giant flap on its ass or anything," he said indignantly. "Although, you know, sometimes that would be convenient," he added in a low whisper.

"Look! The moat's filling up, the bugs are climbing on top of one another, they're going to scale the walls!" shouted Cissie.

"All right everybody, choose your targets and attack!" commanded Wonder Girl, and in the next instant the swarm was swarmed upon.

Superboy used his tactile TK of his bare feet, atop a large sheet of metal, they had salvaged from sunken ships just off the coast. The metal was pressed into the shape of an oversized surfboard. He rode atop of this, crushing the bodies of bugs beneath it, in a series of bounds. "Silver Surfer, eat your heart out."

Cassie used a giant piece of metal, shaped much like a giant fly swatter, to swat at them. Cass called out to Superboy, as she brought her giant metal swatter down on another group of bugs. "Guess we make a pretty good swat team huh?"

Empress threw spears fitted with explosive charges from Robin's well-stocked utility belt and hastily carved by Bart who now asked her bluntly.

"Geez Empress, you going to kill 'em all?"

"No one will be spared."

"Oh, so you're not going to kill any of them then?"

Arrowette fired her bow from the tower. Her explosive arrowheads detonated upon connecting with the bugs' tough exoskeletons. The explosions ripped to shreds all the bugs within a ten-foot diameter. Limbs antennas and bug slime were hurled outward onto the surrounding bugs, until they too met the same fate from the merciless onslaught of exploding arrows. From the other tower, Empress threw her spears into the swarm with similar results.

And then Bart waded into them in his swimwear. His slender physique wielding a crude sword, which had been pressed into shape by Superboy, and then had it's edge hastily carved and sharpened by Impulse. His overlarge sword hacked into them, as they spilled their whitish green slimy ooze. "Crom's blood!" yelled Impulse. "You seek to best me, creatures of evil. There can be only one!"

"What the hell is Robin up to?" yelled Kon as he passed by Cass.

"He wanted to do something with the supercycle."

"What does he have to go to the bathroom or something?"

The sun was about to go down. Robin worked frantically on the onboard computer system of the supercycle, "C'mon baby. Work with me," he muttered to himself.

The sun had already slipped over the horizon and the last vestiges of twilight began to disappear. It odds seemed increasingly stacked against our heroes, as the bugs came at them. No matter how many of the bugs they destroyed, there were still more to take their place. Then, on the horizon, they saw them come. No longer a swarm but a stampede. They looked on in horror, as the bugs streamed out of the forest toward them.

"Oh boy! That looks bad." Cass cringed.

"Doesn't get much worse." Kon felt his heart sink.

Then an even more disturbing development occurred. The giant bugs took off and began to fly. They filled the sky. Had it not already been dark out, they would have blackened the sky.

Kon cursed himself, "Never say it can't get any worse," he reminded himself, "it's practically an invitation for things to get worse."

Cassie gazed helplessly at the swarm flying toward them. "Maybe they're not wings huh?" she muttered beneath her breath.

"Omigod, this is hopeless," said Superboy.

"Maybe not," voiced Cassie. They saw the vacant supercycle rise into the air, from the castle behind them, and then, in a blinding flash, it turned on its headlights, its high beams on ultra high setting. The effect was blinding.

"Man, is that ever bright!" Superboy put up a hand to shade the light from his eyes. "Look, the bugs! They're flying towards the cycle."

The bugs approached the cycle at blistering speed and then when they came in contact with it, " Bzzztt", they were electrified. They rushed toward the cycle, oblivious to the danger, which they dived headlong into. The cycle acted like a giant bug light. The bugs began to sizzle and smoke as they reached the supercycle's electrified body. As the electricity coursed through them, some of the bugs were flung dead away from the cycle at great force. Others exploded as they were trapped in the cycle's electric field. From all around one could hear the snaps, pops, and sizzles of their electrified bodies frying.

"Mon, I love that sound." Anita said to Robin, who came up behind her, "How did you think of that-?"

Robin smiled at her and added "Bright idea?"

"Oh mon!"

"Actually, I remembered how the bugs kept slamming into the cycle, but only one part of the cycle. I wondered why they would do that. Then it occurred to me that the supercycle is a shiny surface, that when viewed at a certain angle would reflect the sun."

"And because they're attracted to bright lights," added Anita.

"They kept slamming into it," continued Robin.

"Elementary eh?"

"Actually, I'll have you know I made it all the way to high school."

Outside the castle walls, Impulse was looking up into the air. "Ah I get it now," said Impulse noting the dead bugs dropped from the cycle above them. "It was one of those mixed up metaphors, cause now it's raining bugs, and when it stops they'll all be dead, and that lasts forever. So it'll put an end to their evil reign of terror."

"Are you ok, Impulse? You're all full of alien bug ooze." Wonder Girl flew over him.

"Bah, frail woman, such things bother me not, for one day I will be king, but that, is another story." With that, Impulse whipped himself around, throwing the bug ooze from his body. Not to the delight of Cassie, who was splattered in the process.

"Oh Hera, you're worse than a dog."

"Looks like were out of the woods now," said Kon.

"Yup." agreed Impulse.

"We're not out of the woods yet people." Robin spoke to the group gathered back inside the castle.

"Geez Robin, of course we are!" said Impulse.

"Yeah!" said Kon.

"Oh really?" said Robin.

"Why of course really. Well, duh!" said Impulse.

"And would you like to explain to me exactly, why you, of all people, think that?" Robin replied.

"Because the woods are over that way," Impulse pointed, "and we're here on the beach. I mean, I shouldn't even have to explain this to you. I thought it would be obvious."

"Yes," sighed Robin, as he buried his face in his hands and shook his head "I was about to say exactly the same thing. So you realize this isn't over then."

"Heck no. We gotta fry the big momma alien! I will smite her with my mighty sword!"

"Oh yeah," said Kon, "big momma alien. She's toast."

"Actually," Robin explained, "we have to destroy the entire mound, nut just the momma. We have to get rid of the eggs as well. First let's get rid of these dead bugs. Get them all piled together."

"Gross," said Cissie, "you mean we have to touch them."

"You might be too uptight," Kon said. "It's not like the dead bugs bite."

"That's the last of 'em Robin," said Impulse, as he threw another bug body on top of the huge bonfire they had started.

"Are you sure? I don't want to take a chance on having any of the genetic material from those bugs surviving."

"Sure I'm sure. There's nothing left on the shore, you can be assured."

Anita said, "The cycle sure looks like a mess though." Bug slime covered the cycle. The bright light from the bonfire shone on it but it no longer had its reflective gleam. "Sure looks like it could use a carwash." Just as the words escaped her lips, the cycle jumped into the water of the ocean. Tumbled itself around a bit and bounded out onto the shore, shaking the water from itself like a dog would.

"That mound is huge, not to mention well protected. You planning on using the cycle to electrify big bad momma too?" Kon asked.

"Electrify? No. But we should be able to give her a charge. Several charges, in fact."

Impulse dropped satchel charge after satchel charge inside the mount. "Ya know, Max always said that I would amount to nothing, but what he really meant, now I see, is that I would turn a mount to nothing."

The rest of the Young Justice gang flew high overhead in the supercycle in the area of the mount. The sides of the mound blew apart as Impulse's satchel charges detonated, it widened the entrance considerably, leaving the alien nest exposed. Robin opened up the weapons array of the supercycle and trained them in wide beam over the entire area of the mount. Laser beams, plasma rays, and an assortment of other energies were fired upon the alien bug nest. With an inhuman sound (as it was not human) the mother giant bug started to fly toward the cycle.

"She's after us!" yelled Cissie.

Robin relied "I don't think so, I think she's being drawn to her own destruction, like the moth to the flame." With that, the giant momma bug was incinerated as she reached the area where the beams narrowed, focusing their energy. Everything cooked below them. Shortly there was no sign that the nest had ever been there. The area beneath them smoked and burned. The very rock itself began to melt.

"Wow! It almost does look like a volcano, now," noted Cass.

"Well looks like we saved the day again," said Superboy.

"But you ruined my day. I mean, this was supposed to be a simple trip to the beach," objected Cissie.

"Well you know what they say, life's a beach!" said Superboy barely hiding his smirk.

"I wonder how Slobo did with his fishing?" said Cass.

"Look there's Slobo," Cissie pointed spotting him. "Wait a second, that looks like... No! It can't be!"

"Hey you bastishes, can you believe the one that didn't get away, a genuine humpback whale."

"A Beach Tale" m


End file.
